Description
These chicken lettuce wraps are fast and fun guilty pleasure. Perfect as a fast appetizer to feed a crowd or a lighter lunch or dinner.
Scale
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 3 TB olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 c. pre-cooked chicken, shredded or diced
- 2 TB soy sauce
- 2 TB sesame oil
- 2/3 c. green onions, minced
- 1/4 c. water chestnuts, diced
- 1/4 c. hoisin sauce
- 1 TB oyster sauce
- 2 tsp ginger, freshly grated
- 2 TB water
For the noodles: (optional)
- rice noodles *
- canola or vegetable oil, for frying
Assembly:
- butter/bibb/boston lettuce, or iceberg or romaine if unavailable **
Instructions
For the filling:
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the garlic for about 1 minute, just long enough for it to get fragrant. Take care not to let it burn.
- Toss in the chicken, soy sauce, sesame oil and green onions and stir so the chicken is fully coated.
- Add the water chestnuts, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, grated ginger and water. Stir and reduce heat to low. Let simmer long enough for it to be heated through and until ready to serve, about 5 minutes. If mixture seems too dry, add water a TB at a time until it has a lightly sauced consistency.
For the noodles: (optional)
- In a deep fryer, pour oil to the manufacturer’s fill line or about 1 inch if using a skillet, and heat to 350°F.
- Separate your noodles into small handfuls, pulling the strands apart and breaking into sections about 2 inches long.
- Toss only a small handful at a time into the hot oil and fry until they expand and are just crispy, not browned. This process happens very fast, between 10 and 20 seconds. Two handfuls are usually enough, or you can fry more for a fun snack the rest of the week.
- Remove to a paper towel lined plate with a slotted spoon or net strainer and tap lightly to break the noodles apart.
For assembly:
- Layer the noodles and chicken mixture on the lettuce, wrap and enjoy.
Notes
*Get the thin kind that almost looks like hair. I have a thicker rice noodle in the photographs. No real measurement is needed, you’ll need only a couple small handfuls.
** Butter lettuce goes by many names, such as Bibb or Boston lettuce. Sometimes this can be sold as “living lettuce” at your local grocer. If unavailable, Iceberg or Romaine are also suitable replacements. Romaine is used in the photos, thus why they look like “boats” more than “wraps.”